Green Luxury Packages at Fairmont
The Resort & Hotel Chain Offers Seasonal Sustainable Travel Packages
Feb 7, 2008
More and more vacation lovers are beginning to realize the impact their travels have on the environment. From the heavy dose of CO2 emitted by airplanes, to hotel development in increasingly remote parts of the world, the travel and tourism industry leaves a heavy carbon footprint. But travel is such a joy, and vacations so well deserved (usually), that not taking trips is surely not the answer. And further, while ecotravel is admirable, not all of us are the types who enjoy spending a week in, oh, a yurt or a treehouse. What's the ecologically aware luxury travel fan to do?
One answer is to book reservations at a Fairmont hotel. The luxury brand is at the forefront of environmentally responsible tourism, without sacrificing any of the modern, 5-star amenities or accommodations befitting the Fairmont name.
Fairmont Resorts and Hotels - Measures for Responsible Travel
The entire Fairmont Hotels & Resorts luxury chain has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to reduce its impact on climate change. The WWF will help the chain meet a CO2 reduction target (by June 2008). This lighter footprint, if you will, will occur through increased energy efficiency and conversion to renewable energy resources, as well as promoting sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices within the brand and with colleagues in the travel and tourism industry.
Fairmont has accordingly joined the WWF's Climate Savers Program.
The Fairmont Green Partnership Guide advises other resorts and hotel chains towards the goal of being more energy efficient. sustainable, and ecologically friendly without sacrificing luxury travel amenities. This includes information regarding reducing carbon dioxide output, donating unused goods to local food pantries and shelters, lighting retrofits and much, much more.
In addition, individual Fairmont resorts and hotels offer green packages tailored to their location. These are annual, and usually seasonal.
- The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia offers the Sustainable Stay package: A two-night stay includes an Ocean Wise (environmentally friendly) three-course seafood diner, and a bottle of British Columbia wine from a sustainable vineyard.
- The Fairmont Empress in Victoria offers the seasonal Go Green, Stay Green vacation package: three-hour Eco Whales and Wildlife Tour (whale watching) comes with an overnight stay at the hotel, along with a bottle of local organic wine and cheese. The Fairmont Empress also donates $25 to the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation with every reserved Go Green, Stay Green travel package.
- The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa offers the Luxury of Green Package: Included in the travel package are an elecrtic vehicle rental, choice of 2 50-minute spa treatments, a dinner featuring locally grown ingredients, and a hike on the Sonoma Overlook Trail.
- The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco offers the Eco is the New Chic package: Free parking for hybrid cars, a bottle of local organic wine, and a stay at the "Lexus Hybrid Living Suite" are included in this green travel deal.
- The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston has the Blue Hills Adventure package: This newest Fairmont travel package is part of a partnership with the local Snowy Owl Telemetry Project at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum. Besides a stay at the hotel, the travel deal includes the Birds of Massachusetts Field Guide, two tickets to the museum, and a donation to the Snowy Own Telemetry Project.
- The Fairmont Olympic has the Whale of a Time package: A travel deal for two, this includes a two-night stay in Seattle's Fairmont Olympic Executive Suite, breakfast, a floatplane ride across Puget Sound, a whale-watching trip (this is why it's a seasonal package) and admission to The Whale Museum. With each package reserved, the Fairmont Olympic donates $100 to The Whale Museum.
- The Fairmont St Andrews, in Scotland, offers the Walk on the Wild Side vacation package: a stay at the golf-centric hotel, full Scottish breakfast and afternoon tea, along with a guide map for local trails (the coastal trails along St Andrews are stunning) are included in the travel package.
Other hotels within the Fairmont luxury brand also offer eco-friendly vacation packages, and several are partnering with local environmental groups. A high-end leisure vacation can also be part of sustainable travel; Fairmont makes it easy.
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